Scientology Volunteer Ministers Helping in Japan

Haitian amputee helped by Volunteer Ministers

My friend Denice just sent me some good news about Haiti. Here is the email she sent me and a picture that certainly paints a thousand words:

I haven't done an official debrief on my trip to Haiti with the Volunteer Ministers and Help for Orphans but I have had MANY one on one conversations. I have finally posted pictures on my website, many are different from my Facebook page. But today I couldn't help myself in emailing out this incredible news about a young amputee I had met in a hospital in Haiti working as a physical therapist. The two Volunteer Minister Physical Therapists got her papers to leave Haiti and get her feet. Today I received a photo of her walking!!!!. My eyes are still wet with joy. The two weeks I spent have continued to spread goodwill and inspiration to all who couldn't go and I am so grateful for all the support that I and the volunteer groups had to truly make a difference!!!
For all the help you give, walk a little more proud today!......... because Mana certainly is.
Much Love
Denice

(Click the picture to see it full size.)

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"A being is only as valuable as he can serve others"

That quote from L. Ron Hubbard is a wonderful description of the value of volunteers. The quote was used during an award ceremony held at the Historic Fort Harrison Hotel as part of National Volunteer Week when five Florida groups were recognized for their invaluable work.

Recognized at the event were Project Medishare, Feeding America Tampa Bay, United Way Tampa Bay, the United Relief Force Foundation and the Willa Carson Health Resource Center.

For more on the ceremony and pictures: Church of Scientology Holds National Volunteer Week Recognition Luncheon at Historic Fort Harrison Hotel

Haiti still being helped by Scientology Volunteers

The disaster in Haiti is no longer headlines, but it still goes on. When that amount of distruction occurs it takes a long time for the normal supply lines, those that bring food and other essentials, to start flowing again. Therefore emergency supply lines and the people to make them work are still needed.

So, the Volunteer Ministers of the Church of Scientology are still working hard to keep those emergency supply lines working: Scientogy "Lifeboat" Arrives in Haiti

Latest News on Haiti

Although the tremors have stopped and the Haitian earthquake has become old news to the ever panting media, the actual disaster is still a reality. People still need food, clothing and shelter and with the rainy season on its way the potential for human suffering is still very high.

Luckily, disaster recovery agencies such as the Red Cross and many others have not forgotten about Haiti. One such agency is the Volunteer Ministers of the Church of Scientology.

And, because this is a blog about Scientology, I'm going to highlight some of their work here:

- Scientology Volunteer Ministers in Miami Load Cargo Ship for Haiti
- More from Miami--Loading supplies onto the ship
- Cassandra Hepburn--Back in Haiti
- Local Scientology member forgoes break to assist in Haiti
- Update: Representatives of the Miami Haitian Community Award Scientology Volunteer Ministers for Haiti Disaster Relief Effort

You can keep up to date on developments in Haiti here: Volunteer Ministers' Blog

Scientology Volunteer Ministers help reopen Catholic School in Haiti

The situation in Haiti is better, but much help is still needed to get the country back on its feet. One important step is to get schools reopened and children back to getting an education.

In Port-au-Prince the first school to reopen and recommence teaching is the Filles de Marie-Auxiliatrice School. The school is run by the Silesian Sisters, a Catholic order, and one important factor that helped them was the Scientology Volunteer Ministers from Mexico.

Read the entire article here: Haiti: First Port-au-Prince School Re-Opens and Back in Service Thanks to the Work of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers
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Scientologists in Haiti: A Report

Here is a report from the Today Show on what the Scientology Volunteer Ministers are doing in Haiti:

What's going on in Haiti

• A day in the life of a Scientology volunteer in Haiti
• Slide show of Scientology volunteers in action
• The blog of a Scientology volunteer in Haiti
• A Scientology volunteer tells her story - including what happened when another earthquake hit
• HAITI: John Travolta y Cienciologia llevan 400 médicos y voluntarios

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Church of Scientology: Sending Help to Haiti

Helping Kenya

A guy I know has just gone to Kenya to deliver a week long training session to Scout Leaders. The whole purpose of the training is to give them tools to help them deal with a changing society in their country.

Here is more about it: Scientology Volunteer Minister Returns to Kenya

Great Article From Australia

When disaster strikes, Scientology Volunteer Ministers are on the scene and helping as quickly as possible, but they don't stop there. Months after a disaster, you will still find them working with the survivors, helping them recover from the trauma of what happened. Here is one such story:

Australian Scientology Volunteer Uses Dianetics to Help Samoan Hero Recover from the Ravages of Disaster

Scientology: Social Betterment Campaigns

I've been talking a lot about the huge expansion of Scientology and perhaps if you are not a Scientologist you are thinking, "Big deal, so the Church is expanding, so what?"

Well, believe it or not, all this expansion benefits you too. The Church and its members sponsor many social betterment campaigns which help improve life for everyone, not just Scientologists.

For example,

• The massive human rights campaign that the Church sponsors: Human Rights.
• The largest non-governmental anti-drug campaign in the world: Foundation for a Drug Free World.
• The campaign to bring about a calmer and safer world: The Common Sense Guide to Better Living
• The largest non-governmental volunteer disaster relief force in the world: Volunteer Ministers

These programs benefit all of mankind, not just members of the Scientology religion. As the Church of Scientology expands, so do these programs and so do the benefits felt by all.

17th Annual Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters Conference

Disasters occur and there are far more disaster response organizations who pitch in to help than we hear about in the media.

Many of these organizations are part of VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters) and last week was their 17th annual conference in which Churches of Scientology Disaster Response participated. Read all about it here:

Churches of Scientology Disaster Response Participates in the 2009 Annual National VOAD Conference

Traveling down the Amazon

Nowhere is too remote for the Scientology Volunteer Ministers. The Amazon Goodwill Tour is certainly proof of that.

Having travelled through Columbia and Peru they have now reached Brazil: Scientology Volunteer Ministers Amazon Goodwill Tour Arrives in Brazil

Scientology Volunteer Ministers in Africa

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tour in Africa is helping hundreds of teachers and students in Ghana by teaching them Study Technology. The VMs use the Scientology Handbook to teach people all sorts of skills that they will need to succeed in life and to handle the many catastrophes, large and small, that people hit in life.

Here is the full story: Scientology Volunteer Ministers Goodwill Tour in Ashaiman, Ghana

Lots of Scientology News

The Scientology Today news site has tons of new stories about Scientology from all over the world.

There are several new stories there about everything from a drug education event in New York to volunteers helping people in disaster areas.

The site also has an "About Scientology" section that answers a huge pile of questions. It's a great site to browse.

From a Volunteer Minister in Uganda

Time for some good news instead of answering questions. Here is what Scientologists are all about: helping others. Here is a story from a Scientology Volunteer Minister who went to Uganda to help out after severe flooding had displaced over 300,000 people.

Yalama Scientology! Thank you!—One Volunteer's Story

(BTW: "Yalama" means "Thank you". )

What have you done for me lately?

My wife was watching a video about various celebrities getting fed up with the media harassment of Tom Cruise (I don't know what site she was on but you can see the video here: Celebrities say "Enough is Enough"). Anyway, she noticed a comment someone had posted that said something like "They should leave him alone. But what does his church do for anyone anyway?"

My wife was flabbergasted: What does his church do? The commenter obviously had no idea. Now I won't vent my own frustrations in this area (or at least I'll keep it to a minimum) but the main-stream media almost never mentions the gazillions of things Scientologists and the Church of Scientology do for their fellow man.

So for the benefit of anyone who doesn't know, here is a small sample:

• Runs the largest residential drug rehab network in the world
• Runs the largest anti-drug educational campaign in the world
• Runs the largest human rights educational campaign in the world
• Runs the largest volunteer disaster relief organization in the world
• Runs the largest psychiatric abuse watchdog organization in the world

Yeah, but what have you done for me lately?

Help still needed in Peru

Help is still needed for the more than 100,000 people left homeless by the recent earthquake in Peru. Scientology Disaster Relief Team Calls for Volunteers to Help

If you can help then contact the Scientology Volunteer Ministers.

Volunteer Ministers Celebrate another year of helping New York

The Church of Scientology of New York Volunteer Ministers Street Fair this year was another huge success. The Scientology VMs were there at Ground Zero after 9/11 and they continue to provide help whenever new disasters occur.

Of course, not all disasters are of the magnitude of 9/11 or the Asian Tsunami, so the VMs are ready to help even with the smaller disasters of everyday life: marriage difficulties, drug problems, family situations and more.

VMs are trained in the methods described in the Scientology Handbook and they have received numerous recognitions for the effective help they have provided to millions. (Scientology Volunteer Ministers Recognitions) So an annual celebration seems very much in order!